I just bought a 1986 firebird Saturday. Garage kept, 1 owner, 88000 miles, never seen snow or rain, etc. I test drive it, the thing is on E he puts 1 gallon of gas in it and I do it and I decide to buy it. I drive it to the nearest gas station, fill it up, and go home. Today, I go to drive it around the block and it just stops and dies at the stop sign! It literally sounded like no gas was getting to the car, I would press the gas and nothing would happen(it sputtered along) and then died. I push it home, and the car doesn't start at all. I'm thinking since it hasn't been ran in awhile that the gas and stuff is bad and also thinking about replacing the fuel filter. Any ideas/suggestions? I'm really considering stopping the check tomorrow morning until this is fixed because he said it is a perfectly working/driving car.(Especially for school)

 

I would just change the fuel filter and fill it up and go from there maybe add some sea foam to the gas.

 

Need more info......V6? V8? Carb? Fuel injected? All stock?

Are you savvy under the hood? It's most likely something simple. Start basic troubleshooting. Spray some starting fluid down the carb/throttle body. Does it fire up? Is it getting spark? There's not very many things that can actually keep a car from running. It's when it's running, but not running right, that you really chase your tail so consider yourself lucky.

Was the gallon of gas he put in fresh? How long was the car sitting? Is it possible it had some good gas in it and he added some older gas that killed it when it got to the engine?

 

Sorry for not being too specifinc. And I'm not savvy under the hood.

It sounds like it wants to turn over but doesn't, just keeps trying. I don't know about the gas he put in and he said the car has been garage kept for awhile now, the last time he had plates on it was in 01.

 

No offense, but if you're not tech-savvy and you're looking for a reliable car, this probably wasn't the one to buy. It's a 23 year old car and hasn't run, consistently if at all, in 8 years.

Personally, you can't really blame him. It's a old car. You can't expect it to be more reliable than a 2005 Honda or something. Something could have jostled loose when you were driving it. Who knows.

How much did you pay for it?

You may not be getting spark if it's not turning over. Is there gas in the tank? Maybe there's a leak and it leaked out. Check the basics first. Gas and spark. Gonna need both of those for it to run.

 

If the car has sat since '01 I would think the fuel filter is in need of a change and I would give it a tuneup and change the fluids .

 

Paid little under 2k.

None taken, it was a pretty close seller to my home and he said it would be a great everyday car, taken good care of etc. He said he would start it up drive it around for a few minutes park it and wash it. I hope something was just jostled loose. We'll see pretty soon. And after I bought it I drove to the nearest gas station and filled it up.
We we're going to bring it up for a tuneup, oil change, and tire alignment today.

 

yea sounds like you might want to change the filters and get like you said a tuneup and oil change. nice grab for under 2k tho you said you were not tech savvy under the hood? then you might wanna grab a Hane's manual or something like that and get familiar real fast bro. No offense but you might just want to start getting a little savy
good luck man
again nice grab for under 2k

 

I would like to learn about cars and everything. My dad knows more than the average stuff but is disabled an hard for him to do it(I'm 19). This is my first car and I've always dreamed about owning a 3rd generation firebird/camaro. I'm going to be starting college in Aug. and just want a nice car.

Here are the pictures of it:

 

Nice. Yeah I would get a service manual for it (Chiltons or whatever).

What motor and transmission does it have?

 

Thats a really clean car, well worth just under 2k.

 

It's junk, you need to sell it to me right away! When and where can I pick it up?

 

2.8L V6 and almost positive it's the M5,A4 trans.

 

Idk.. I hope it's nothing horribly wrong with it. It's a beautiful car and I want to keep it but my dad is thinking about selling it/retuning it to the guy

 

Not trying to be a jerk, and I'm not wanting to sound stupid in pointing out the obvious but you can't have both an M5 and an A4 trans on the same car.

You have an M5 if you have to manually shift the gears with a stick and clutch.

You have an A4 if you just put it in OD and go.

By the way, nice snag for under $2k

If the car has sat for so long, try charging the battery and/or replacing it. That is most likely all it needs. Go ahead and get it tuned up, fluids & filters changed, and aligned so you can have a nice clean slate start point for maintenance purposes.

 

I'm sure there is nothing horribly wrong with it, but it's 22 years old, so you're going to have spontaneous problems with it off and on. I'm sure everyone is going to flame me saying their Chevy/Pontiac has 300,000 problem free miles on it, blah blah blah.

It's an old car. You'll probably run into things now and then. Just go into it knowing that. Maybe you'll even learn a few things too! Right?

Greg

 

Haha, sorry I literally looked up the specs and it said M5,A4 so I was like hmmm.. I'll copy this It's an auto.

Also, one more thing it does, is when I brake the car pulls to the right.. I figured a brake job/front end alignment would take care of that.

 

Could be a sticky caliper or a caliper that isn't closing.

 

That's why I joined. I want to learn thing so I know what to look for... I just learned something new about transmissions just a sec ago

 

It's possible the fuel pump could have died, especially if the previous owner always ran it with very little gas in it. The pulling while braking is probably a sticky caliper or a collapsed brake hose, both very common.

It really is a nice looking car, probably well worth what you paid for it.

 

Hey no problem at all. Yep, I'd think adding a brake job to the list would be nice as well.

For what you paid, you got a really nice car. Sure it has its share of mechanical problems, but when its that old its to be expected. All in all your mechanical problems aren't much at all, some of us would die to have a car that nice with that little to worry about.

 

change ur fuel filter, get a fuel pressure gauge and check that. if you dont hear ur fuel pump when u go to start it u might need a new one. might have a clogged line as well. make sure u do a full tuneup bfore going after the fuel pump/lines.

 

AHMEN!!!!

 

I knew very little about cars when I bought my '90 RS a year ago. A year later with an auto shop class and these forums under my belt I would feel confident in doing just about anything.

Codename 47 is right about it not being a very reliable car ( you can make it one though), so you need to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can about your car otherwise you'll end up pouring tons of money down the drain for jobs you could have easily done on your car, the brake job for example, the pulling to the right could be something as simple as replacing a caliper or brake line.

Don't let the car intimidate you, just read on these forums, you'll learn priceless information.

 

Yeah I remember at first I wasn't crazy about it(the engine size and I kind wanted a t-top) but then it grew on me. My dad is also trying to think what he wants to do.. He either said he is going to get the money back and he promised I will get another Firebird or might stick with this one..

 

Keep it and get it going . I would put good gas in and do all the maintenance stuff and when you go to do the brakes I would change all three rubber brake lines to be safe if you have the money .

 

you're never going to find a deal like that one. me personally, i'd say that car is worth the price even without an engine. From the pics it looks like the body and paint are in great original condition (nice paint color scheme,also.) If that was my car and I had to pay someone $500 to get it running I would still think it was a great deal. In fact, I'll bet you could get more than you paid right now if you were to sell it just the way it sits.Go with the advice about the fuel filter, but also add a bottle or two of gas dryer to the tank.(long shot but it might help) You know the car ran good when you bought it, so whatever the problem is, its fixable. Remember, this kind of thing could have happened 6 months from now or five years. Its part of owning any used car.

 

Have you got it fixed yet ?

 

sounds like the fuel pump to me, check the fuel pressure

 

Its the COIL, or fuel pump. maybe i mean